November 17, 2025 • 9 mins
An ITV investigation reveals a former Buckingham Palace warden secretly moonlighted as a neo-Nazi propagandist — proving once again that nothing good happens when “royal service” meets “far-right forum.” King Charles, meanwhile, embraced a 105-year-old WWII veteran who fought the original Nazis, reminding Britain what actual courage looks like. The New York Times wonders if the monarchy itself is running out of time, while Prince Harry’s phone-hacking case collapses after a key witness claims his testimony was forged. Even by royal standards, that’s one chaotic news cycle.
Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.
Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.
👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Season 1 is fully available now for everyone. Season 2 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 2 BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player. AND listen to Crown and Controversy "NORWAY'S ROYAL REBELS" here and get the full season as a premium subscriber now.
👑 The Palace Intrigue Social Hub is Live! Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram or click the links to start your royal journey!
Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.
Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.
👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Season 1 is fully available now for everyone. Season 2 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 2 BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player. AND listen to Crown and Controversy "NORWAY'S ROYAL REBELS" here and get the full season as a premium subscriber now.
👑 The Palace Intrigue Social Hub is Live! Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram or click the links to start your royal journey!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Caloroga Shark Media, Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue and
host Mark Francis. One way to get people to start
talking about Andrew was to involve Nazis. An ITV news
investigation has uncovered that a twenty six year old from
Leicestershire and former Buckingham Palace warden led a double life
(00:27):
as a key figure in Britain's neo Nazi movement. While
employed at the Palace, welcoming guests and working in close
proximity to the Royal family's state rooms, the man is
said to have secretly served as chief propagandist for far
right organizations Active Club England and Vanguard Britannica. Both groups
(00:47):
are part of a growing international white supremacist network operating
under the pseudonym John. The Man produced propaganda, photography and
artwork for extremist groups while promoting the racist great Replacement theory.
In interviews with ITV News, he described himself as an ethnocentrist,
claiming to advocate for the interests of my people. After
(01:10):
leaving the Royal Service last year, John traveled to Texas
in September, where he represented a British delegation at the
inaugural conference of the US neo fascist group Patriot Front.
When confronted by ITV news, John appeared startled before attempting
to justify his beliefs. He admitted working for the Royal family,
but said his employers don't tend to ask questions about
(01:31):
the personal political views of their members. Buckingham Palace said
it takes such matters extremely seriously, but declaimed to comment
on individual security issues. King Charles shared a heartfelt embrace
with one hundred five year old Second World War veteran
Janva Abbas during a reception honoring veterans at Windsor Castle.
(01:53):
Mister Abbas, who fought the original Nazis, served as a
combat cameraman in the British Army and first met the
kingdom En Camilla earlier this year at a remembrance service
in Staffordshire. At that event, he gave an emotional speech
thanking the couple for attending despite the King's ongoing cancer treatment,
a moment that brought both Charles and Camilla to tears.
(02:14):
Reunited at Windsor, the pair exchanged a few warm words
before hugging. I told him we can't go on meeting
like this. Miss joked afterwards, I was very much looking
forward to meeting him again. I have a lot of
respect for his majesty, not just as a monarch, but
as a human being. It's wonderful to meet him and
to know that he is improving. Because I had cancer
and I got rid of it. It's been rid of
(02:35):
for fifteen years now. Following the war, he became a
filmmaker and used his platform to honor those who risked
their lives in conflict. Speaking at Windsor, he paid tribute
to journalists killed in Gaza, saying, whatever I did, it's
insignificant when I see what the men and women of
Gaza have done. For more than two years. They have
been recording the genocide that has been visited upon them.
(02:57):
Asked what message he would give to younger generation the veterans,
tone turned somber. I am angry with the world, and
I am ashamed, he said. I thought I fought a
war to have a better world, and I find that
aim in a worse world than I was in at
the time. In the New York Times, russ Delta asks
what if the monarchy went out with a bang dealt
(03:18):
It wrote about the Norwegian rebels which we covered in
season one of our feed currently labeled Crown and Controversy
Prince Andrew. You can find that podcast wherever you get
your podcast. But the first season is about the Norwegian Rebels.
Just scroll down and you'll see distinct episode art that
will show you which ones are the Norway episodes. But
dealt it rates. My real sympathy descended on Martha Luise, who,
(03:41):
like various equivalents in the more famous House of Windsor,
has spent her life as a royal sibling, bouncing from
public spectacle to public tragedy and back, enduring the most
profound failure of the purely ceremonial monarchy its inability to
figure out what to do with royals who aren't the
king or Queen. That failure is also relevant to the
(04:02):
peculiar position of Prince Andrew or mister Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
as we are supposed to call them, after the stripping
of his legal rank amid a new wave of Jeffrey
Epstein coverage. One can be confident in Andrew's guilt in
some form and still find it striking that the king's
own brother could lose all his titles without ever being
convicted of any crime. The last residue of absolute monarchy
(04:23):
or power, it turns out, is the power to punish
one of your own potential heirs without a trial. Nonetheless,
I wonder if before history's curtain falls on the ceremonial
style of monarchy, we will eventually see some unexpected attempt
at a genuine ku de mann, some crowned monarch bringing
back the controversies of the seventeenth century by trying to
exert real power once again, or some youngest son or
(04:46):
daughter trying to play real politics in that old fourteenth
century style. It seems improbable more likely. Surely Andrew's sad
exit is the model for a future when entire British
monarchy ends with a whimper, with all the mount Batten
windsors slinking away into it private life. But I do
think the likely nature of that end looks different today
than it might have in nineteen seventy or two thousand.
(05:07):
Back then, monarchy would have seemed most likely to be
abolished amid a surge of modernizing sentiment as an expression
of vaulting confidence in the liberal democratic future. Now, though
I tend to agree with the British writer will Lloyd,
Who's recent blast against the British throne in The New
Statesman compares Charles the Third to Franz Joseph, the aged
Habsburg Emperor who presided over Austria Hungary before its demolition
(05:31):
to the First World War, his point being that today's
Britain is in deepening trouble economically and socially and spiritually,
and the British monarchy seems increasingly likely to perish as
part of a larger national crack up when ethnic tensions
and native versus immigrant conflicts and regional separatism leave nothing
for a ceremonial monarch to preside over. Monarchy survived the
(05:55):
twentieth century by making its peace with liberalism and making
its unruly members in the nacriani. But in a postliberal
era that unrulingness might yet be a political virtue, or,
if not quite that, at least a way to close
out the Books of Kings with a bang more palace
in just a moment. Prince Harry's phone hacking lawsuit against
(06:18):
the publisher of The Daily Mail has been thrown into
turmoil after a key witness dramatically withdrew his previous testimony,
claiming it was forged. Private investigator Gavin Burrows now insists
that a twenty twenty one witness statement, one that appeared
to admit to extensive illegal surveillance on behalf of Associated Newspapers,
was complete rubbish and not written or signed by him.
(06:40):
In a new thirty page statement prepared with independent legal counsel,
Burrows says the earlier document bears a forged signature and
contains language completely inconsistent with his own. The disputed statement
had played a central role in prompting several of the claimants,
including Prince Harry and Sir Elton, to pursue legal action
against the publisher. The group alleges that The Daily Mail
(07:03):
and Mail on Sunday engaged in systemic privacy breaches, from
phone tapping and vehicle bugging to obtaining confidential information by deception.
Associated Newspapers has denied or wrongdoing. Burrows now asserts that
he never worked for The Mail on Sunday or Daily Mail.
Apart from a single legitimate inquiry involving Sir Richard Branson.
(07:24):
He claims that journalist Graham Johnson, who has a prior
conviction for phone hacking, and paralegal Dan Waddle encouraged him
to cooperate in an investigation targeting The Daily Mail, offering
him payment for statements. Burrows alleged that Johnson referred to
the Burrows alleges that Johnson referred to the litigation as
(07:44):
a gravy train that newspapers would pay to escape. He
further claims he was introduced to solicitor Angelie Senghani, who
represents several of the celebrity claimants, and that she visited
his home with gifts and promises of five thousand pound
monthly retainer for minimal work. Burrows also recounts meeting Barrister
David Sherborne, who leads Prince Harry's legal team, during discussions
(08:07):
about surveillance techniques and fees. Following Burrow's recantation, the claimants
no longer planned to call him as a witness and
may instead rely on hearsay evidence about his prior statements.
In The Royalist, Tom Sykes writes, I've always felt that
the problem with Prince Harry's big phone hacking case against
the publisher of The Daily Mail, which is set for
a blockbuster courtroom showdown in January, is that so many
(08:30):
of the characters involved seem to be shady private investigators
or admitted phone hackers themselves now claiming to have seen
the light and they have it. If you'd like to
email us, he addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com.
Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, We're on Facebook, Instagram.
Come say hi and it leaves a nice review. If
(08:50):
you enjoying the show, I'm Mark Francis My thanks to
John McDermott. This is Palace Intriguing in good times
Caloroga Shark Media, Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue and
host Mark Francis. One way to get people to start
talking about Andrew was to involve Nazis. An ITV news
investigation has uncovered that a twenty six year old from
Leicestershire and former Buckingham Palace warden led a double life
(00:27):
as a key figure in Britain's neo Nazi movement. While
employed at the Palace, welcoming guests and working in close
proximity to the Royal family's state rooms, the man is
said to have secretly served as chief propagandist for far
right organizations Active Club England and Vanguard Britannica. Both groups
(00:47):
are part of a growing international white supremacist network operating
under the pseudonym John. The Man produced propaganda, photography and
artwork for extremist groups while promoting the racist great Replacement theory.
In interviews with ITV News, he described himself as an ethnocentrist,
claiming to advocate for the interests of my people. After
(01:10):
leaving the Royal Service last year, John traveled to Texas
in September, where he represented a British delegation at the
inaugural conference of the US neo fascist group Patriot Front.
When confronted by ITV news, John appeared startled before attempting
to justify his beliefs. He admitted working for the Royal family,
but said his employers don't tend to ask questions about
(01:31):
the personal political views of their members. Buckingham Palace said
it takes such matters extremely seriously, but declaimed to comment
on individual security issues. King Charles shared a heartfelt embrace
with one hundred five year old Second World War veteran
Janva Abbas during a reception honoring veterans at Windsor Castle.
(01:53):
Mister Abbas, who fought the original Nazis, served as a
combat cameraman in the British Army and first met the
kingdom En Camilla earlier this year at a remembrance service
in Staffordshire. At that event, he gave an emotional speech
thanking the couple for attending despite the King's ongoing cancer treatment,
a moment that brought both Charles and Camilla to tears.
(02:14):
Reunited at Windsor, the pair exchanged a few warm words
before hugging. I told him we can't go on meeting
like this. Miss joked afterwards, I was very much looking
forward to meeting him again. I have a lot of
respect for his majesty, not just as a monarch, but
as a human being. It's wonderful to meet him and
to know that he is improving. Because I had cancer
and I got rid of it. It's been rid of
(02:35):
for fifteen years now. Following the war, he became a
filmmaker and used his platform to honor those who risked
their lives in conflict. Speaking at Windsor, he paid tribute
to journalists killed in Gaza, saying, whatever I did, it's
insignificant when I see what the men and women of
Gaza have done. For more than two years. They have
been recording the genocide that has been visited upon them.
(02:57):
Asked what message he would give to younger generation the veterans,
tone turned somber. I am angry with the world, and
I am ashamed, he said. I thought I fought a
war to have a better world, and I find that
aim in a worse world than I was in at
the time. In the New York Times, russ Delta asks
what if the monarchy went out with a bang dealt
(03:18):
It wrote about the Norwegian rebels which we covered in
season one of our feed currently labeled Crown and Controversy
Prince Andrew. You can find that podcast wherever you get
your podcast. But the first season is about the Norwegian Rebels.
Just scroll down and you'll see distinct episode art that
will show you which ones are the Norway episodes. But
dealt it rates. My real sympathy descended on Martha Luise, who,
(03:41):
like various equivalents in the more famous House of Windsor,
has spent her life as a royal sibling, bouncing from
public spectacle to public tragedy and back, enduring the most
profound failure of the purely ceremonial monarchy its inability to
figure out what to do with royals who aren't the
king or Queen. That failure is also relevant to the
(04:02):
peculiar position of Prince Andrew or mister Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
as we are supposed to call them, after the stripping
of his legal rank amid a new wave of Jeffrey
Epstein coverage. One can be confident in Andrew's guilt in
some form and still find it striking that the king's
own brother could lose all his titles without ever being
convicted of any crime. The last residue of absolute monarchy
(04:23):
or power, it turns out, is the power to punish
one of your own potential heirs without a trial. Nonetheless,
I wonder if before history's curtain falls on the ceremonial
style of monarchy, we will eventually see some unexpected attempt
at a genuine ku de mann, some crowned monarch bringing
back the controversies of the seventeenth century by trying to
exert real power once again, or some youngest son or
(04:46):
daughter trying to play real politics in that old fourteenth
century style. It seems improbable more likely. Surely Andrew's sad
exit is the model for a future when entire British
monarchy ends with a whimper, with all the mount Batten
windsors slinking away into it private life. But I do
think the likely nature of that end looks different today
than it might have in nineteen seventy or two thousand.
(05:07):
Back then, monarchy would have seemed most likely to be
abolished amid a surge of modernizing sentiment as an expression
of vaulting confidence in the liberal democratic future. Now, though
I tend to agree with the British writer will Lloyd,
Who's recent blast against the British throne in The New
Statesman compares Charles the Third to Franz Joseph, the aged
Habsburg Emperor who presided over Austria Hungary before its demolition
(05:31):
to the First World War, his point being that today's
Britain is in deepening trouble economically and socially and spiritually,
and the British monarchy seems increasingly likely to perish as
part of a larger national crack up when ethnic tensions
and native versus immigrant conflicts and regional separatism leave nothing
for a ceremonial monarch to preside over. Monarchy survived the
(05:55):
twentieth century by making its peace with liberalism and making
its unruly members in the nacriani. But in a postliberal
era that unrulingness might yet be a political virtue, or,
if not quite that, at least a way to close
out the Books of Kings with a bang more palace
in just a moment. Prince Harry's phone hacking lawsuit against
(06:18):
the publisher of The Daily Mail has been thrown into
turmoil after a key witness dramatically withdrew his previous testimony,
claiming it was forged. Private investigator Gavin Burrows now insists
that a twenty twenty one witness statement, one that appeared
to admit to extensive illegal surveillance on behalf of Associated Newspapers,
was complete rubbish and not written or signed by him.
(06:40):
In a new thirty page statement prepared with independent legal counsel,
Burrows says the earlier document bears a forged signature and
contains language completely inconsistent with his own. The disputed statement
had played a central role in prompting several of the claimants,
including Prince Harry and Sir Elton, to pursue legal action
against the publisher. The group alleges that The Daily Mail
(07:03):
and Mail on Sunday engaged in systemic privacy breaches, from
phone tapping and vehicle bugging to obtaining confidential information by deception.
Associated Newspapers has denied or wrongdoing. Burrows now asserts that
he never worked for The Mail on Sunday or Daily Mail.
Apart from a single legitimate inquiry involving Sir Richard Branson.
(07:24):
He claims that journalist Graham Johnson, who has a prior
conviction for phone hacking, and paralegal Dan Waddle encouraged him
to cooperate in an investigation targeting The Daily Mail, offering
him payment for statements. Burrows alleged that Johnson referred to
the Burrows alleges that Johnson referred to the litigation as
(07:44):
a gravy train that newspapers would pay to escape. He
further claims he was introduced to solicitor Angelie Senghani, who
represents several of the celebrity claimants, and that she visited
his home with gifts and promises of five thousand pound
monthly retainer for minimal work. Burrows also recounts meeting Barrister
David Sherborne, who leads Prince Harry's legal team, during discussions
(08:07):
about surveillance techniques and fees. Following Burrow's recantation, the claimants
no longer planned to call him as a witness and
may instead rely on hearsay evidence about his prior statements.
In The Royalist, Tom Sykes writes, I've always felt that
the problem with Prince Harry's big phone hacking case against
the publisher of The Daily Mail, which is set for
a blockbuster courtroom showdown in January, is that so many
(08:30):
of the characters involved seem to be shady private investigators
or admitted phone hackers themselves now claiming to have seen
the light and they have it. If you'd like to
email us, he addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com.
Please follow us on Spotify, Apple, We're on Facebook, Instagram.
Come say hi and it leaves a nice review. If
(08:50):
you enjoying the show, I'm Mark Francis My thanks to
John McDermott. This is Palace Intriguing in good times
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com